Jerry Brown wants to close state prisons

What’s it like to interview Gov. Jerry Brown? It’s complicated. He has a strong command of his subject matter. He likes to mix it up. He did suggest at one point when we talked Thursday that I read his National Day of Prayer proclamation, as it might instill in me a more “reverential” attitude. Very funny.

Paul Sakuma, AP

Jerry Brown: Reflect more deeply on eternal verities

Brown called as I was working on a Sunday column on his “realignment” plan to shift “low-level offenders” to local authorities. Here is a piece that explains JBro’s plan in a friendly manner. Here is the Governor’s signing statement.

Brown confirmed what he told LATimes scribe George Skelton about “shutting down some prisons before we’re through.” He noted that the state cannot really save big money on the Corrections budget without closing prisons.

Problem One: While Brown reaffirmed that he wants to shutter prisons, he also predicted that the Supreme Court might order the release of 37,000 or more inmates to relieve overcrowding. (My take on how the “overcrowding” issue is overhyped here.) Problem Two: if Brown’s warning comes true, there aren’t going to be any prison closures for a long time.

Problem Three: My concern is that the three-strikes system, with its emphasis on going after repeat offenders, has kept California’s crime rate down, as I wrote in 2008. Michael Rushford of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation is convinced that Assembly Bill 109, if implemented, will increase violent crime.

GOP state Sen. Sharon Runner has issues with Brown’s emphasis on rehabilitation. Brown thinks “everybody can be rehabilitated,” she told me. Runner also notes that the Brown plan will require the construction of new county jails.

OK, I counter, but the GOP wouldn’t vote to put the Brown tax-extension package on the June ballot. Without more revenue, it’s hard to sustain the pricey status quo. Runner responded that Republicans could have supported Brown plan if it included spending caps and strong pension reforms. Aide Charles Fennessey added that voters have a less of a reason to vote for the Brown package, if it makes the ballot, because they get a spending plan with tax extensions and fewer convicts in prison.